It's quiet this year because of the new generation. A lot of devs pushed out their releases to avoid the rush, and now are working on their big next-gen debuts. And not all of them got a headstart on it. Look forward to a lot of announcements.

Over the holidays I took my Vita up with me on the intention of playing a bunch if games...and I ignored all of them just to play Spelunky or Thomas Was Alone. Where the latter is a touching, wonderful puzzle platformer that's great to replay, the former is just fucking addicting. Spelunky is my background radiation I think.

I'd like to play more Dark Souls so I can ready myself for the sequel. Aside from that, I'm really looking forward to Double Fine's Broken Age Part 1 on the 14th.

Completed Tearaway yesterday, having played it solidly for three days. That really was the perfect length for that game. And man, that ending. It's the kind of ending you wouldn't think would be spoilable, but NOBODY SHOULD SPOIL THAT ENDING FOR ANYONE.

Tearaway is really the perfect kids' game. It brings out one hell of a grin on any adult, but if I played that as a kid I would think it was the most amazing goddamn thing ever.

Also, play the game with earbuds or headphones. The Vita's tinny speakers don't do the game's sound any justice. The music is the reason why I let the credits run for 25 minutes before I finally realized they were probably looping.

New 2 terrabyte drive has finally replaced my old 250GB one. Currently downloading a few billionty mods for Skyrim because I've got the space for all those texture packs and other pretties. Next up, balancing framerate with prettiness once they're in place.

Pounded my way through XCOM: Enemy Within. Overall I dug the additions they made to content with the meld, MEC, and genemods, dug the new missions and scenarios, and enemies, but overall I felt it was an easier game late game (i.e. my main squad was so advanced that they tore through the final mission in one go). Going to go back through and do an Ironman run.

Question: is there anything special if you

make Durand (the psychic woman you have to rescue) your "Volunteer" for the final mission? Considering how much they focused on her and the Furies (the three other psychs you rescue) I wondered if there might be.

Don't Starve was free on Playstation Plus, which is lovely since I already own it on my Mac. It played really well, too! I'm thinking of starting to do regular broadcasts of me playing it.

the Lego game? I was thinking "Well, I don't know how much better it can really look between PS3 and PS4, but I want more PS4 games, so here we go." and I have to say... Graphics-wise? I was surprised! Much better-looking than I remember Lego Star Wars looking on the PS3. Much blocks! Such busy screen! So Awe!

Also, just as a game, it felt really dense with co-op and character switching moments. It feels really creative and fun all the way through the opening level, and I can't wait to play it with my wife when she comes back from off shore.

@Magnulus, with the exception of some later levels being repetitive, I loved playing Lego Marvel on co-op with my girlfriend, so many moments of getting stuck and saying to one another we're smart adults we can figure this kids game out and still being stuck 15 minutes later, and the fun of free play with unlocked characters makes it great to replay.

Completed "Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros." While the best parts of that game made me grin, you do have to go through a lot of filler to get to them. It's a long game... I spent 40 hours getting through it, not counting my save-scumming to get some achievement stuff. Granted, that was with me fully exploring each dungeon, too.

Those 40 hours were with me having basically mastered the M&L combat system over the course of the three previous games, so I think I lost a battle once over the course of the game (not counting the Giant Luigi fights, which I lost a couple of times as well). I did fight all the enemies I came across, and I did save the optional dream-world people I came across (which sorta work as little sidequests), but with how the battles work, if you're not leveled you will spend much more time dodging enemy attacks. Not to mention that boss fights will take much longer. So I figure it pretty much adds up anyway.

The problem with a more active battle system like the M&L games (where you actively dodge and/or counter enemy attacks even though the battles themselves are turn-based) is that each enemy attack is like this little minigame. And so each turn takes much longer than in your average turn-based RPG. So once you've mastered fighting a certain type of enemy, you're faced with sort of the worst of both worlds - both going through the motions strategically, and going through the motions to dodge/punish attacks. It's not entirely dull, but you eventually start to cringe upon seeing the same enemy again. And the game just keeps throwing more and more and more new areas at you when you feel like you should be done with the game.

If they'd trimmed the fat, it'd be a great 20-30-hour game. I'd say it's still worth playing, as the best bits are pretty brilliant. Just be prepared for the game overstaying its welcome. And if you haven't played a Mario & Luigi game before, go get Bowser's Inside Story instead... It's much better. And if you have the means to play it, the VERY first Mario & Luigi game (Superstar Saga) for the GBA is a great example of a lean, tight RPG.

Oh, and that achievement stuff in Dream Team Bros.? It does get you items, but I didn't end up using any of those items, so, uh... Not worth it. Just go through the game normally, and don't worry about them unless you're a completionist.

Finally tried out Don't Starve, which I've had in my Steam library for ages, and goddamnit - I'm hooked! After a few deaths before day five, had to check out some strategy guides online and if not for the game crashing, I'd have a thriving farm now. Awesome stuff!

I always look for flowers first, so I can get some rot going for farming. I also do my best to get rocks on the first day for a permament fireplace. Then I go for a shovel so I can move berry bushes to near my base camp.

For your own mental health, try to get a bug net made as quickly as possible. You can catch butterflies and "plant" them live into the ground as flowers. Picking flowers raises your sanity, and wearing a flower garland will raise your sanity ever so slightly every minute you wear it.

Just finished Tearaway about ten minutes ago. Pretty much agree with what twentythoughts said. Perfect length for a game, I find it impossible to be in a bad mood while playing it, and the ending was just touching. And damn, those last few levels...remarkable use of the touchscreen/motion controls/camera in that game. I HATE games that use those things, but this made sense. Loved it.